Shop with an exterior platform. What type of flooring would hold up?

[KIMOSABE]

I have my shop in a not-big-enough shed.

Several of my machines are on hard rubber dolly wheels.

I'm thinking of building a 8' x 10'platform/deck outside the front door. I want it so that I'd have a place to roll out a couple of machines when I needed more elbow room, or to roll the table saw onto when I have to cut sheet goods. I think I can do it with 2 x 6 joists held off the ground by masonry blocks. If I put a typical surface on, I'll run into the hassle of rolling the machines over grooves.

If I did use 2 x 6 decking I'm thinking that I'd like to rip flat edges on them so that they would butt to create a flat floor. Would eliminating the spacing lead to weathering problems? I actually don't like this idea but I can't think of any other way to get a flat floor. (I once used Northern Yellow Cedar for decking, but

I also don't know how such decking surface would hold up to being assaulted by the wheels. Can anyone recommend an alternate type flooring that will stand up to outdoor NJ exposure. I probably won't build it until next spring.

[FrozenNorth]

I wouldn't butt deck boards together. Just brainstorming with the following, how about an overlay on a standard deck:

Hardboard - probably have to be replaced every couple years, but cheap. Hardiboard - makes good siding, not sure about for a floor product. Metal - probably too hot in the summer.

Just ideas to start a discussion.

[Sonny]

How high is your shed's floor off the ground?

Sonny

[Dave In Texas]

Ipe though it's pricey. It should butt nicely and requires almost zero care.

Dave in Houston

[-MIKE-]

Concrete pad. Use concrete block or landscaping bricks for a skirt to bring it up to the grade of the shed and packed fill dirt and crusher-run gravel dust.

If the shed is on grade with the surrounding ground, pour a floating slab foundation. Google it. The "footing" portion doesn't have to be as deep and wide as it would to hold a structure above... just deep enough to keep the pad from creeping due to freeze and thaw.

If you go the lumber route, pressure treated plywood for the deck.

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------------------ Advance to "GO" and collect $200, then go straight to a concrete slab.

BTDT, forget the T-Shirt.

Wood will rot.

A concrete slab can be used for winter storage when you include a tarp.

BTDT

Lew

[Steve B]

Investigate steel. Columns with floor joists, then B decking with about two to three inches of concrete. Spendy, but not that hard to do, and maintains easier than wood in that climate.

Steve

[SonomaProducts.com]

Exterior grade 1" ply over framing with some cheap replacable linoleum (spelling?) rolled out over it.

[Sonny]

I vote concrete slab. Compare costs for a framed deck vs concrete. Concrete may be cheaper and no maintenance. No footing is required.

Compare costs for a 10'X12' or 12'X14' slab, too. You may want to enlarge your shed or replace it, in the future. *12'X14' may need an expansion joint.

Sonny

[dadiOH]

I vote for concrete too. Around here (central Florida) you could hire it done for about $2.75/sq.ft.

[keithw86]

How about exterior (non-porous) tile for the surface? The underlying structure would have to be pretty stiff to take the machinery but should be do-able. Grout lines may be an issue but this could be minimized with an 18x18.

[Nova]

As others have stated I'd opt for the concrete deck. I'd also compare the cost of the the deck to the cost of expanding the shed.

[willshak]

KIMOSABE wrote the following:

I vote concrete like some of the other responders. Just think about rolling the machines out there after a rain. Do you want to be using dangerous tools with a wet wood/tile deck?

[Larry Jaques]

Switch to 5" rubber-wheeled casters and you won't have any problem rolling over regular decking with the eased edges.

Probably fairly well. Going up in size will help there, too.

Concrete is a definite contender.

-- You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. --Jack London

[J. Clarke]

If concrete's not an option I'd be tempted to try a couple of layers of

3/4 Extira over whatever support structure is appropriate, then shoot truck-bed liner on it.

[keithw86]

What's the difference between tile and concrete? If you're worried about electricity and water mixing, tile should be better. If it's slipping that's the problem, the tile can be selected for its slip resistance. A litttle slope should clear it of water pretty quickly.

[J. Clarke]

How is a wet concrete deck better?

[-MIKE-]

Neither is an issue with GFCI breakers.

[KIMOSABE]

The shed sits on masonry blocks which are in turn sitting on an 8" bed of crushed stone. This was required by the bldg. code.

The actual floor of the shed is 9 inches above ground level. The land here is VERY sandy soil (NJ shore area). The land rises a few inches as it gets farther from the front.

[-MIKE-]

Oh geez, New Jersey. You probably can't pee in your back yard with installing a leach bed and getting a permit from the EPA. :-)